


This Kind of Love

by hopingforaword



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: AU, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, F/M, M/M, Modern AU, Modern Era, Multi, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-06-06 14:45:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6758323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopingforaword/pseuds/hopingforaword
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alexander Hamilton and his seven best friends live in Philip Schuyler's mansion upstate. The group is insanely talented–smart, funny, artistic–but that doesn't make being a young adult any easier. In order to truly love each other, all of them have to get more in touch with their feelings, and that means confronting their own histories, feelings, needs, and desires, ultimately discovering things they never knew about themselves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Palace Day Part One

Alexander Hamilton woke up in a mansion with no sense of where he was. He had just had a dream he was back in Nevis on that fateful day when his father had left. He had been ten years old when that happened, and for a heart-stopping moment, he didn’t know how old he was.

In reality, Alexander Hamilton was 26. In fact, that very day was his birthday. He was living in a mansion in upstate New York that belonged to his girlfriend, Eliza’s, father, Philip Schuyler. It really was a mansion. Three sprawling floors and 18 rooms made it the second biggest building Alexander had ever lived in, after his college dorm. Alexander (his friends called him Ham) was glad he didn’t live in the house alone. He couldn’t stand the quiet. He would’ve started talking to the walls. He lived in the Schuyler mansion, or the Palace, as they often called it, with seven of his friends: Elizabeth “Eliza” Schuyler, his girlfriend; Angelica Schuyler, Eliza’s older sister and Alexander’s ex-girlfriend; Margarita “Peggy” Schuyler, Eliza’s younger sister and the young one in the group; Aaron Burr, a frenemy of Alexander’s from college; John Laurens, Alexander’s best friend/boyfriend; Hercules Mulligan, a friend he inherited from Laurens; and Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, lovingly called Lafayette, another friend of Laurens’s. Living with all the people wasn’t always easy, but it was always exciting.

It was 6 a.m. Today was Palace Day, which is what the friends called it when they all stayed in the house together. Once a month they all ate brunch at 11 a.m., played videogames, looked at each other's art, listened to writing by Alexander and Lafayette, cooked dinner together, and often watched a movie. The Palace Days were always nice, because they reminded everyone in the house how much they valued their friends. 

Alexander changed into pajama pants and a t-shirt. Everyone wore pajamas for brunch on Palace Day, but he hadn't put on pajamas that night before falling asleep. He went downstairs, walked quietly through the second floor hallway (Angelica would kill him if he woke her up, and Peggy would shoot him annoyed glances all day), and down another flight of stairs to the first floor. He walked to the kitchen and turned on the coffee brewer. While Alexander waited for the coffee to brew, he thought about the combination of coincidences that led to him sitting there in the Palace. 

If he hadn’t gone to Rochester, he wouldn’t have met Angelica Schuyler. If he hadn’t met Angelica Schuyler, he wouldn’t have gone out with her. If he hadn’t gone out with Angelica Schuyler, she wouldn’t have brought him to the Palace when it still belonged to her father, Philip Schuyler, for a family party. If he hadn’t come to that family party at the Palace, he may never have met Eliza Schuyler. If he had never met Eliza Schuyler, he would never have gone out with her. If he hadn’t started going out with Eliza, she never would have asked him to move in with her. If Eliza hadn’t asked Alexander to move in with her, her father would never have been okay with Eliza staying in the gigantic Palace by herself when he moved to Florida to enjoy his retirement. 

There were larger ramifications than that too. If Eliza and Alexander hadn’t moved into the Palace, their six friends would not have been able to live with them. If their six friends hadn’t been able to live with them, they might have moved away. And how would Alexander have survived then? Laurens might have gone back to North Carolina. Lafayette and Hercules might have gone back to Europe. And Aaron could’ve moved into his old house in New Jersey. New Jersey! How could they have been friends if Aaron had moved back to New Jersey?

The coffee finished brewing, and Alexander poured himself a mug. He walked to the front door, opened it, and brought in the morning’s paper. He went back upstairs to his study at the opposite end of the third floor hallway from his room and sat down on the small couch he had in there.

After about an hour, Peggy quietly opened the door to the study, stepped in, shut the door gently, and perched herself on the edge of Alexander’s desk. “How are you Margarita?” Alexander asked, turning the page of his paper but not looking up. 

Peggy rolled her eyes. “You know I don’t like it when people call me Margarita,” she said.

“So I’m only allowed to call you Margarita at 2 a.m. in my bedroom?” Alexander laughed.

“You make it sound so gross!” Peggy said, throwing a crumpled up piece of paper at him, “You’re only allowed to call me Margarita when you’re giving me heartfelt advice in the early morning somewhere on the third floor or in the yard behind the house.”

“Fine,” said Alexander, rolling his eyes, “how are you  _ Peggy _ ?”

“I’m well. I slept well. Eliza was playing music pretty late last night, but the music was alright and it didn’t keep me up too late,” Peggy said, “The music wasn’t because of you, was it?”

“No, no,” Alexander laughed, still reading. 

“So you weren’t in my sister’s room late last night?”

“No, dear Peggy, I was up here until around 1 last night.”

“There’s no way you got five hours of sleep last night. You  _ never _ get that much sleep.”

“Of course I didn’t get five hours of sleep. Around one Laurens came in,”–Peggy groaned and chuckled at the same time–“and he convinced me that it was time to go to bed.”

“How on earth did he do that?” Alexander glanced at Peggy over the top of his newspaper and raised one eyebrow. Peggy laughed. “And  _ then _ did you go to bed?”

“I went to my room and sat down on my bed. I think I passed out between 2 and 3? I don’t know. But I woke up at 6 a.m. and just did my usual morning thing.”

“You have my knitting?” Peggy asked, kicking her feet against the desk.

“Yeah, here,” Alexander reached down with his left hand and grabbed a blue drawstring bag, which he threw to Peggy. She caught the bag right before it hit the desk. She opened the bag and pulled out a green half-finished sweater. “It’s coming along very nicely Peggy.”

“Thanks Alex,” she said. Peggy slipped very gently from the desk onto the rolling chair behind it. She picked up her needles and began to knit in silence, while Alexander read the newspaper.

While she was knitting, Alexander watched Peggy for a few minutes. Peggy was the youngest of the group, just finishing up the first semester of her senior year of high school. Peggy, just like her sisters, was strikingly beautiful, but in a quieter way. Angelica was loud and bright (both in mind and in color), Eliza was sociable and witty, and Peggy was quiet. Around her sisters, she got drowned out, but if you were around her without them, you couldn’t help but look at her. At only seventeen, she looked like a miniature Angelica, but her eyes had a twinkle that was very Eliza-esque. Her features would have made her stand out in any crowd, but she was so meek. It wasn’t that Peggy didn’t have much to say, she was just never sure when to say it. Some things, Peggy often thought, are just meant to be thought and not said. Alexander didn’t mind. The quiet with the company was nice, and Peggy was fun to hang around with when you did manage to get her talking.

Around 9, Lafayette came into the study and said, “Peggy, I need your help in the kitchen.”

Peggy put her knitting back into her drawstring bag and stood up. She stretched and asked, “What are we making today?” 

“Pancakes and fruit salad, and maybe mocktails if you’re up for it?”

“Let’s do it!” She left the study in an enthusiastic almost-gallop. 

“You coming Ham?”

Without responding, Alexander stood up, still reading the newspaper, and followed Lafayette out of the study and down to the kitchen.

Alexander sat down at the kitchen counter, his newspaper still open, while Peggy and Lafayette started cooking. Lafayette cracked jokes as he cracked eggs for the pancakes, and Peggy started pulling fruit and juice out of the fridge. She pulled down the blender and laughed at one of Lafayette’s French puns. Alexander rolled his eyes.

“Don’t think I didn’t see that Ham,” said Lafayette, chucking a raspberry out of Peggy’s blender and at Alexander, which gained Lafayette a hand smack and an irritated but loving, “tuh!” from Peggy.

Alexander looked up from his newspaper for a second and caught the raspberry in his mouth. When his eyes were back on his newspaper he said, “Don’t think you can pull one over on me Lafayette. I got mad skills.” Peggy laughed and shook her head while she poured pomegranate juice into the blender.

Hercules traipsed down the stairs and kissed Lafayette on the cheek before starting a conversation with Peggy about her plans for the fall around 10, closely followed by Aaron. Aaron came to the counter and Alexander handed him the Business section without looking up. Aaron accepted it and sat down in an armchair in the living room directly adjacent to the kitchen. Eliza traipsed down a few minutes later. Eliza, unlike everyone else, had showered. She hated looking bad in front of anybody, so she always looked good in the morning. Eliza worried that Alexander never noticed. If he did, he didn’t mention it.

Alexander did notice. He never said anything about it because he didn’t want to influence Eliza’s decisions at all. He wanted her to do what she did because that was what she wanted to do. He never wanted to have the “upper hand” although no man can truly have the upper hand with any of the Schuyler girls. Eliza looked very different from her two sisters. While Angelica and Peggy had prominent lips and angular faces, Eliza’s most beautiful feature was her eyes. She had brown eyes that shone in her pale face and you could always tell how she was feeling from her eyes. Alexander had been very taken with Eliza as soon as they started dating. She often complimented him on his eyes, to which he would always shoot back, “You say the sky’s the limit, but I look into your eyes and we can do anything.” Eliza was also incredibly smart. She worked at an art museum in the curation and education department and had helped to put together some pretty impressive exhibits. Eliza was also a little more sappy than her sisters (Angelica had passed her suspicions of all people down to Peggy), more of a lover and less of a fighter, but her wit was sharp and she had an iron will. If you got on her bad side (which Alexander had done once), you were a goner. This made Alexander love her even more.

Eliza sat down next to Alexander at the counter. She kissed Alexander on the cheek and asked, “What’s in the news?” which launched him into a ten minute explanation of some complex point about U.S. relations with North Korea. Hercules jumped up on the kitchen counter and sat there, talking to Lafayette and Peggy while they cooked. 

Angelica came down the stairs at exactly 10:59 with a loud, “Good morning all!” Angelica could never resist a grand entrance, and loved having eyes on her. It was hard not to look at her. Like the rest of the Schuylers, she was gorgeous, but she also made her appearance very flashy. She wore bright colors (like the bright pink pajama shorts she was wearing that day) and was loud and amazing. You knew when she walked into a room, either from her bright colors or her loud voice, and when she did she swept you off your feet. Everyone loved Angelica. If you didn’t, you must have never met her. She stood in the doorway and swept the room with her eyes. “Where’s John?” she asked.

“Not up yet obviously,” said Lafayette from the stovetop.

“Nice shorts Angelica,” said Hercules with a smirk, which earned him a smack from Lafayette and a glare from Angelica.

“Aw,” she said, flouncing down next to Eliza, “I wanted to be the last up.”

“You don’t always need to make a grand entrance Jel,” laughed Peggy. Angelica glared at her.

It was 11:15, and everyone was getting antsy. Everyone knew Laurens liked to sleep in, but it was Palace Day. After a minute of shifty looks and half-glances, Alexander put down his newspaper and said, “I’ll go get him.”

Alexander stood up and left the room. As soon as Hercules heard Alexander running up the stairs he leaned over to Angelica and said, “Yeah, Ham going into Laurens’s room is  _ really _ going to motivate Laurens to wake up.” Angelica giggled, and Hercules cracked a smile.

Alexander knocked gently on Laurens’s door. When there was no response, he knocked again, more loudly. The third time he knocked he said, “Laurens! Wake up!” Then Alexander lost any sign of patience and opened the bedroom door. Laurens was lying on his side in the middle of his bed, completely undisturbed by Alexander’s knocking and calling. Alexander let out an angry sigh, kicked off his slippers, yanked back the covers, and curled up next to Laurens. Laurens stirred. “John…” Alexander called quietly.

Laurens stretched his arms, yawned, and said, “What Alexander?”

“It’s time to get up John,” Alexander said in a soft, sing-song voice.

“You lying here is really good proof that it’s not time to get up,” Laurens replied, his eyes still closed.

“Well do you know what day it is?” Alexander asked.

“Sunday.”  
“What kind of Sunday?”

“Palace Day.”

“Besides Palace Day.”

“Hmm…” Laurens contemplated, “Is it...your birthday?”

“Yes!” Alexander exclaimed, and he turned over so quickly that Laurens opened his eyes in surprise. “And because it’s my birthday, I get whatever I want.”

“Mmm, somebody’s a bit of a diva,” Laurens whispered.

“And what I want later is for us to cuddle during the movie that I will choose. But what I want now,” and with this statement Alexander threw off the covers and stood up, “is for you to get up!”

Alexander turned and strode out of the room as Laurens sat up. Laurens called after him, “Cute pajamas!”

A few minutes later, Laurens walked into the kitchen. A general sigh of relief was heard, and everyone started getting ready for breakfast. Lafayette and Peggy stood at the counter, flipping pancakes onto plates and pouring smoothies (“I tried to make mocktails! It’s not my fault I’ve never had a real cocktail!” Peggy yelled as she threw the dish towel at Lafayette), Alexander and Eliza set the table, and Aaron, Hercules, Angelica, and Laurens sat around the kitchen island.

“You four,” said Lafayette, pointing at Aaron, Hercules, Angelica, and Laurens as he placed plates in front of each of them, “are on clean-up duty.”

“Duh,” said Angelica, taking a sip of her smoothie, “This is really good Peg!”

“Thank you,” said Aaron as Peggy set a smoothie down in front of him. 

When everyone was seated and had food in front of them, the conversation began.

“What are we doing today?” asked Peggy.

“Well,” said Eliza, “The first thing I’m doing is collecting phones. Aaron, Alexander, hand them over.”  
Both men’s heads popped up. “What?” they snapped.

“You are not allowed to use your phones on Palace Day except in an emergency and you both know that. And no, checking the  _ Times _ or the  _ Wall Street Journal _ does not qualify as an emergency. Hand them over,” explained Eliza, holding her hand out.

Alexander and Aaron both frowned and opened their mouths to argue. “Aaron,” Angelica warned while Laurens exasperatedly whispered, “Alexander, please.” Aaron and Alexander continued to grumble as they locked their phones and handed them over to Eliza. 

“Every month it’s the same rule, and every month the same two people argue about it,” laughed Lafayette. 

“It’s the one thing Aaron and Alexander are always united on,” said Angelica. They scowled at her while everyone else laughed.

“So what are we doing today?” asked Eliza as she tucked the phones into her pants pockets, “Anyone have anything special?”

“Peggy’s been working on a painting,” offered Laurens. She shot him a look.

“Really?” said Angelica. Peggy nodded. “Can we see it?” Peggy flashed a glance at Alexander, who nodded slightly. Peggy sighed and nodded. Everyone finished their breakfasts.

As Aaron, Hercules, Angelica, and Laurens cleared the table and washed the dishes, Eliza and Lafayette moved into the living room. Alexander took his pencil and journal off the side table and started to move into the living room, but Peggy grabbed his arm before he could leave the kitchen.

“Alexander!” she whisper shouted over the sound of Hercules and Angelica singing and Laurens and Aaron washing the dishes, “I’m not ready to show the paintings!”

“Peggy,” said Alexander, stepping to the side so they were out of earshot of the people in both rooms, “They’re finished–you said so yourself–and they’re fantastic.”

“But they’re so different!”

“Peggy, that’s just because you’re evolving as an artist. They’re really fantastic and I can feel the emotions emanating out of them when I look at them. I really think you should show at least one of them.”

Peggy stood silent for a minute. Then she whispered, “I don’t want the others to know what I’m going through.”

Alexander took a deep breath. “Margarita, I’m only going to say this once, so listen closely. You are going through something and dealing with it in a healthy way. The paintings you are producing as a result of this thing are very beautiful and moving. Your sisters care for you a lot, so you can’t block them out of this. Everyone in this house cares for you a lot, and they’ll help you or leave you alone as you go through this thing, whichever you prefer.” Peggy opened her mouth to argue, but Alexander walked into the living room and sat down on the green couch next to Eliza. He put his arm around her and kissed her on the cheek.

Peggy stood in the doorway for a second before moving into the living room and sitting on the carpet in front of the fireplace. There was a general hum of chatter in both rooms until the sink turned off and Aaron, Angelica, Hercules, and Laurens came in from the kitchen and sat down on various chairs and couches around the room.

Once everyone was seated, Angelica took charge as usual; “What are we doing today?” 

Alexander immediately responded, “Peggy is going to show us some of her new paintings and I just published a poem that I’d like to read to you guys if you're up for it.” Alexander’s poems were as good as his nonfiction and really deeply moved most people who read them. There was a lot of emotion packed into them and they tended to be very personal. 

“I've been working on a piece for violin,” offered Eliza, “I'd be happy to play it for you guys.”

“After that, we should play some board games,” said Lafayette. 

“Like what?” asked Hercules, “Board games always turn into death threats in this house.” 

“That doesn't mean it's not entertaining,” laughed Peggy quietly. 

“Easy to say when you're not the one being threatened with being thrown off the balcony,” muttered Aaron. 

“Board games are fun but Ham and Burr have to promise to behave,” said Eliza. Both men muttered promises. “I think it's Alex’s turn to choose the game.” Everyone nodded in agreement. 

“MONOPOLY!!!” shouted Alexander to a general chorus of moans. 

“Ham, monopoly takes forever,” whined Hercules. 

“Especially with this many people,” agreed Angelica.

“Then we’ll do teams of two and we’ll set a timer.”

“Who gets to choose the teams?” asked Lafayette. 

“Well we could do it in age order,” said Peggy. “Oldest picks first.” Everyone nodded, so Laurens got first pick. 

“Alexander,” said Laurens. All three Schuylers sighed, but everyone could admit this was a predictable turn of events. “Burr, you've got next pick,” said Laurens. 

Aaron swept the room a few times, his eyes lingering on each face for a few seconds. “Peggy,” he finally said. Peggy glared at him and then at Laurens before picking up a sketchbook from her hiding place by the fire and starting to draw. 

Angelica picked Eliza, which left Lafayette and Hercules on the same team. Everyone seemed content with the teams except Peggy, who very covertly whipped out her phone and typed furiously before returning to her sketch. 

“What about lunch?” asked Hercules. 

“That's all you ever think about Herc,” said Lafayette from his side. 

“Not  _ all _ I ever think about,” said Hercules, leaning in to kiss Lafayette on the cheek. 

“Hey!” called Aaron from his chair, “If I'm not allowed to have my phone, you're certainly not allowed to PDA.” Lafayette stuck his tongue out at Aaron before wrapping his arm around Hercules. 

“We can have a late lunch after Monopoly, which will have a two-hour time limit,” said Angelica, “Everyone go get ready for their presentations and board games. Meet back in the main studio in ten minutes.”

“Laurens!” hissed Peggy as everyone filed out, “You couldn't have picked me?” 

“C’mon Peg, you knew I was going to pick Alexander.”

She stood up and walked over to him. “Maybe, but why the hell would Aaron pick me?”

“Maybe he wants to be friends.”

“He knows too much about me for us to ever be friends.”

“I know everything he knows and you and I are friends.” 

“True,” said Peggy, picking up her sketchbook, and wrapping her arms around it, “But you and I have never stayed up until 2 a.m. making out.”

Laurens made a harsh disgust face before saying, “That's true. And no offense, but I wouldn't want to.”

“Don't worry John. I have no wish to stay up with you until 2 a.m. doing anything besides talking.” They both laughed as they walked to the studio. 

Peggy pushed open the door to the studio and Laurens stood in the doorway for a second. “Should I–?”

“You can come in,” said Peggy, “But shut the door behind you. We still have seven minutes before people come in and I need to get ready.” Laurens shut the door and sat on a stool, watching Peggy move around the studio.

Peggy was insanely passionate about her art. Watching her move around the studio, even when she was just setting up a presentation, was like watching a tornado in action, except what was left at the end was pure beauty instead of sheer devastation. When she was setting up for a show, she seemed like she was flying. One wall was split into two distinct themes; the left half was realistic, life-size portraits of Peggy and her housemates and two landscape paintings, including one of the backyard of the Palace, and the right half was bright pink, orange, and yellow slightly abstracted paintings of flowers and animals. But lying on the ground was a completely different series of paintings. Huge, mattress size and bigger canvases, covered in blue and purple depictions of school buildings and clocks and one of herself, covered the floor of the studio. She walked over to the wall next to her existing painting wall and began quickly hanging the pictures until they were all hung up and covered a large stretch of the wall. “How much time John?”

“Two minutes,” said Laurens, checking his watch. Peggy sighed and stepped away from her paintings, before turning around to face them again and sighing.

“Can you come look at them?” 

Laurens nodded and stood next to Peggy, who immediately turned her back to her paintings. Laurens looked at them for a second, then grabbed Peggy’s shoulders and gently turned her around. “Look at them,” he said, “They’re amazing Peggy. You obviously poured a portion of your soul into these, and it shows. Now everyone else is going to see them too.” He gave her a reassuring squeeze and let go as the door opened and Eliza walked in, followed by Angelica, Alexander, Aaron, Hercules, and Lafayette. Eliza put down the violin case she was carrying next to the music stand she had in the corner of the room. Everyone gathered behind Laurens as Peggy moved to stand to the left of her paintings. There were a few moments of silence as everyone just stared at Peggy’s paintings. 

Angelica broke the silence; “They’re amazing Peggy!” The room erupted into cheers and clapping for Peggy’s art. 

As the clapping died down, Lafayette said, “But why the change Peggy?” Everyone murmured in agreement and cast their eyes towards the other wall of Peggy’s work.

“I’m...trying something new, a new style,” said Peggy, “I’ve also finished more in a shorter time, which is inexplicable to me, but it’s been fun.”

“Well, they’re gorgeous Mar–Peggy,” said Aaron.

“Thank you everyone,” said Peggy, turning slightly red, “We should listen to Eliza’s piece now.”

Eliza dragged her music stand out of the corner and pulled her violin out of her violin case. She adjusted her sheet music, took a deep breath, and began to play. Several times people began to clap, but the piece continued. Finally, the piece finished, and everyone clapped. It was stunning. Eliza had never played a piece that long before. Watching Eliza play the violin was vaguely similar to watching Peggy move around her studio. Both got a very fiery look in their eyes and interrupting them seemed impossible, but Eliza was hyper aware of her audience and seemed to move almost exclusively for those people, whereas Peggy moved around a ton because that was how she worked. She moved like a storm because she needed to, and if she realized you were there, she stopped mid-movement. Eliza was very clearly a performer while Peggy was privately an artist. You would never guess how much she moved if you didn’t see her at work doing it. 

“Wow Eliza,” said Alexander, walking up to her and putting his arm around her waist, “That was beautiful.”

“And long,” said Hercules, “You write that yourself little Liza?”

“Yeah,” said Eliza, blushing, “I did.” There was a second round of applause. “You’re up Alexander,” said Eliza, unwrapping his arm and squeezing his hand before joining the crowd as Alexander cleared his throat:

“I am standing in a room full of people.

speaking to them.

And they do not understand me, 

not because they don’t want to,

because they can’t.

I am speaking English

and they are hearing English

and somewhere between my mouth

and their ears

the words stop making sense.

And we are trying, 

them and me

to understand each other,

to know.

But we have been separated too long. 

They have been raised with their words

and I with mine,

and somewhere in the middle they meet,

but not enough.

Their stories and memories have no bearing to mine.

Sometimes it is impossible to even know what

the story is about;

lace dresses, late nights, bright lights.

They all mesh together.

And I cannot understand. 

But I try and try and try

and  still

I am in the dark.

So I tell them my stories

and they try and try

and cannot understand.

The words don’t mean the same thing.

The words fail us.

The same ideas cannot be formed because

we don’t have the words.

English is no longer a language, 

but a mess of words that don’t 

have any real meaning. 

No shape, no consistency holding them up.

The words we are raised with

shape us.

They have been raised with their words,

and I with mine,

and therein lies the rift.

Harsh words

racism, hatred, bigotry

bring different minds than soft words

inequality, dislike, bias

and thus I cannot understand their lives:

why you wouldn’t fight, the difference between a free and a rave, the loose cash,

and they cannot understand mine:

why you would fight, the difference between jobs and internships, constrictions on money.

But we try

Every day we find a 

word

a single

word

that means the same thing 

for us both.

And we celebrate,

before trying to find another.

Or we make up words,

assigning old definitions

to new words,

trying our best

to level the field.

And that’s all it

takes

a word

and a will.

And somewhere between my mouth and their ears

it all clicks back into place.”

There was a round of snapping as Alexander took an over dramatic bow. “It’s about trying to bridge the gap between different ethnic backgrounds and socioeconomic groups linguistically,” explained Alexander, “I wrote this two days ago and it was really inspired by my writings in col–”

“We get it Alexander,” said Angelica, “We should probably get started on Monopoly, let’s go.” Angelica marched out of the studio and into the den to set up Monopoly, and Eliza, Hercules, Alexander, Lafayette, and Laurens followed her, leaving Aaron and Peggy alone in the studio. Peggy collapsed Eliza’s music stand and put it back in the corner, before going to stand in front of her paintings and face them. Aaron silently came up behind her.

“They’re really something Margarita,” said Aaron, standing a respectful distance away from her.

“I asked you to not call me Margarita anymore Burr,” said Peggy, turning away from her paintings and walking towards the door. Aaron started striding quickly in the same direction and cut her off ten feet from the door. “What do you want?”

“First, I want to know when you started calling me Burr. Second, I want to talk about what’s going on with you.”

Peggy crossed her arms over her chest and pointedly refused to look at Aaron. “I started calling you Burr in February of 2014. And I don’t even know what you’re talking about. Nothing’s going on with me.” 

“What was February 2014?” 

“February 2014 was when I started dating Lafayette you imbecile! God!”

“Oh,” said Aaron. He’d forgotten about Lafayette. Peggy and Lafayette had dated for ten months, from February to December 2014. Their relationship had seemed very superficial, almost as if they were simply close friends who spent lots and lots of time together. They never had long talks like Eliza and Alexander, and they were never sneaking off into private rooms like Hercules and Lafayette. They were just always together. Aaron had barely noticed until Angelica pointed it out. Or maybe, in the aftermath of his breakup with Peggy and in the midst of his new romance with Theodosia, he’d been deliberately not noticing. “You’ve been calling me Burr for almost two years and I haven’t noticed?”

“No,” Peggy said, “I’ve called you Aaron out loud until a few days ago. I started calling you Burr in my head a while ago, but I could never bring myself to say it out loud.”

“Oh,” said Aaron, “good. But if you really want me to stop calling you Margarita, I will. It’s just force of habit.”

“Burr, we haven’t been together for over two years,” said Peggy disdainfully, “But if that’s it I’m going to go start our Monopoly empire. You can stay here if you want, I guess, but I’m tired of this conversation.” Peggy grabbed the door handle and began to pull it open.  
“That’s not it,” said Aaron, pushing the door closed over Peggy’s shoulder. “I wanted to check in with you.” Peggy sighed. “I know you’re depressed and I know your anxiety contributes to your depression.”

Peggy stood silent for a second and looked at him. She took a deep breath, seeming on the edge of tears. She looked down at her feet, shook her head, and whispered, “This isn’t your job anymore Aaron.”

“Of course it is Peggy. I’m still your friend, and I know you better than anyone–”

“No, you don’t. Not anymore.”  
“Okay, I’ll cede that. But at one point I knew you better than anyone else, and I haven’t forgotten a single thing you told me.”

“Just because we dated for a few months three years ago doesn’t mean you know anything about me.”

“We dated for a year, Peggy, and you told me a lot about yourself that I still remember. You told me that you weren’t too fond of excessive sexual contact, that you had clinical anxiety, that the anxiety often lead to depressive episodes, that you accept change but are afraid of it, and that you really love high school even if you don’t have that many people to talk to on a day-to-day basis. I saw most of that in the paintings you showed us today. The blue showed your depression, the repetitive clocks and the blur of the second hands showed your fear of change and time ticking forward, and the empty hallways depicted your high school. So I’m guessing you’re anxious about leaving high school and it’s causing you some amount of depression. Say something if I’m wrong, say nothing if I’m right.”

Peggy sighed. “You hit the nail on the head.” 

“I’m always here if you ever need to talk. I mean I know you have Hamilton and Laurens now, but you know, I’m here.”

Peggy put her arms around his neck (he was a little taller than her) and pulled him in for a hug. “Thank you Aaron.” She let go of him and pulled the door open. She stepped out of the room and Aaron followed her out. They walked down the hall and Peggy stopped right outside the den. “I’d just like to say something, quickly, and then I’d like you to forget I said it.”

“What?”  
“Sometimes Alexander and Laurens make fun of me for having dated you, and in the midst of all that I can forget why I even did. But what you said in the studio made me remember. I dated you because you’re sweet, calming, and a great listener. Theodosia’s lucky to have you.”

“Thanks Peggy. And I know you’ll find someone who’s as great as you are.”

“But what if whoever he is doesn’t feel the same way I do about intimacy. What if all the great guys get swept up by all the girls who like sex?”

He stepped a little closer to her. “Then you’ll know he’s not the one.”

“Thanks Aaron. Now let’s go kick ass at Monopoly.” They high-fived and walked into the den.

Monopoly lasted right up until the timer. Lafayette and Hercules messed around a lot, buying properties that might not have been worth it but having fun all the same, even when they finished last. Angelica and Eliza fought fiercely but were incredibly unlucky in their cards and their rolls, going almost bankrupt on several occasions. Laurens and Alexander barely scraped a second place finish due to Alexander's risk taking which usually won him the game. But Aaron and Peggy, the quiet ones, slowly bought up property and put up hotels until they had a small empire. “Nice job Peggy,” said Eliza.

“I knew Burr was a cheater, but I wouldn't have pegged Peggy as the dirty underhanded type,” snorted Alexander.

“Taking huge risks doesn't always pay off Alexander.”

“Yeah well taking no risks definitely doesn't pay off Aaron.”

“Risks are dangerous and unnecessary.”

“Is it safe up there in the land of Burr?”

“Safer than it is in Hamilton country.”

“Great motto you have though. ‘Talk less, smile more, make everyone think you're a huge bore.”

Aaron took a step towards Alexander. “You're going the right way for a split lip Hamilton.”’

“Is that so Burr? I'd like to see you try,” retorted Alexander, stepping closer to Burr so that the two men looked as though they were about to embrace.

Aaron took a deep breath, seeming as though he was steadying himself. Then he pulled his right arm back and Alexander’s fists swung up to in front of his own face. The room sprung into action. Peggy grabbed Aaron’s arm and Angelica whispered, “Aaron,” in a stern and warning fashion. Eliza ran in front of Alexander and touched his chin, while Laurens grabbed Alexander’s hands and said, “Alexander,” scoldingly. Lafayette and Hercules stepped between the two men, ready to hold them back should it prove necessary. Aaron took a few deep breaths and looked at the ground. He grabbed Peggy’s hand gently, and she squeezed it reassuringly. Laurens moved his arms from Alexander’s hands to his shoulders, holding him steady. Alexander looked at Eliza and gave her a quick kiss. Aaron proffered his hand and Alexander took it after a barely noticeable pause. The energy in the room relaxed, and everyone seemed less tense. Blow ups like this between Alexander and Aaron were less common every month, but they did still happen, and they were stressful for everyone for the few seconds they were happening in. 

 


	2. Palace Day Part Two

“So lunch?” Angelica asked, walking into the kitchen. Everyone followed. Angelica and Lafayette began pulling food out of the fridge while Alexander and Eliza set the table. The friends sat down at the counter and clapped as Angelica set up her signature burrito bar. Everyone could cook something (except Hercules, who was, as a result, always on cleanup duty) and they took turns cooking it for Palace Day. Angelica’s something was burritos.

Everyone ate quickly and silently. When it was time to wash the dishes, the same crew from the morning began clearing the table, with Peggy replacing Angelica. “So what now? We could read or take some time apart or sing karaoke or play video games or—”

“Videogames!” shouted Laurens and Hercules from the sink. They high fived, their hands covered in suds.

“Okay so Zelda or smash or metroid blast —”

“Mario Kart so we can all play on duets?” suggested Eliza.

“Yes! I can kick Ham’s ass at Mario Kart!” shouted Hercules.

Everyone looked at Alexander, who rolled his eyes. “I know I suck at Mario Kart. Peggy beats me, and Peggy is awful at video games.” Peggy turned around from where she was drying the dishes and stuck her tongue out at him. “But I get to pick the teams.”

After a general murmur of agreement, Alexander thought. “Peggy and Laurens, Angelica and Aaron, Hercules and Lafayette, and myself and Eliza.”

Hercules, Peggy, Laurens, and Aaron finished washing the dishes and the eight of them retreated into the den. While Hercules was setting up the WiiU, it was agreed upon that the better player on each team (Laurens, Angelica, Hercules, and Eliza) would start. When they died or finished a map, they would give control over to their teammates. It was an effective and entertaining system. The four starters counted down from three with the machine and began the race.

Hercules took the video games far more seriously than anyone else. Maybe it was because he didn't take anything else particularly seriously, except his relationship with Lafayette, which contributed a lot to Hercules’s increased self control and responsibility. When the gang had met Hercules, he was a major partier and not particularly interested in learning in college. (Laurens actually met Hercules at a frat party on the third day of term.) He dated a lot of girls, although Angelica often said she wasn't sure how much actual dating went on. He started taking life seriously when he got together with Lafayette, and now he was an assistant football coach at the local high school. Hercules definitely looked like a football player. He was the tallest and the broadest of the friends, and was extremely muscular. When he woke up early, sometimes he went for a run. His loud deep voice could be jarring, but it could also be incredibly comforting.

Cheers erupted from Eliza and Alexander as Eliza raced into a first place finish for the first race. Alexander grabbed the controller from her and gave her a quick hug. Laurens finished third, Lafayette finished fifth, and Aaron pulled seventh. Laurens reluctantly gave his controller over to Peggy, Aaron practically threw his at Angelica, and Lafayette switched places with Hercules, giving him a swift kiss on the cheek.

Lafayette had had a very strong French accent when Alexander met him in their European History class. He had come to America for college and to get away from his family. Lafayette’s family was a very old rich family, and Lafayette always felt like his views were out of synch with his family’s. After all, introducing yourself as, “Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette,” is only fun once or twice. So he came to the US where he met Laurens, Alexander, and Hercules. He partied a little, worked a lot, dated Peggy for a while, graduated college, and then dated Hercules. No one, not even Lafayette, expected Hercules to go for a guy, but he nevertheless said yes when Hercules asked him out. Lafayette worked at a fancy French restaurant in Rochester, and sometimes the gang would drop by and order something. Lafayette was an amazing cook, and he was extremely passionate about it. God forbid you get between him and a kitchen.  
Peggy and Laurens shouted as Peggy raced over the finish line to clinch first place. Lafayette came in on her tail in second, Aaron was fourth, and Eliza was sixth. Hercules snatched the controller from Lafayette, Aaron handed his over to Angelica, Alexander reluctantly took it from Eliza, and Laurens and Peggy fist-bumped as she handed him the controller.

Laurens had a turbulent history. His family was very conservative, except for his father, and Laurens was a very strong liberal who engaged in a lot of activism for all sorts of causes. He was also out as gay when he turned seventeen after a very turbulent relationship with his high school best friend, Martha. Many of Laurens’s family members believed that him being gay was just a phase, only a response to a badly ended relationship, but it wasn’t. So Laurens, similarly to Lafayette, ran away when it was time to go to college, but only as far as New York. In his sophomore year he met Alexander and fell in love with him almost at once. Their relationship was a little complicated in the beginning and still a little complicated, but it was really quite simple if you thought about it. Laurens loved Alexander, Eliza loved Alexander, and Alexander loved them both equally. Laurens was a bartender, something he had actually adopted as a coping strategy. He started drinking heavily junior year of high school, and continued this trend into college. Sometimes he would pass out at parties, and once Alexander called an ambulance because he was afraid he had alcohol poisoning. He had tried to stop drinking altogether when he was 21 (ironically), but he realized that avoiding something is not the same as dealing with it, so he learned how to bartend. Laurens loves bartending because it’s a night job and he can sleep all day. Plus, he can bring Alexander to the bar with him and no one asks any questions.  
The third race finished with Alexander in first (surprising everyone), Laurens in second, Hercules in third, and Angelica in fifth. There was a series of, “Oooo”s as everyone realized that Laurens and Peggy were tied with Alexander and Eliza.

“You’re going down Eliza,” said Peggy as she swept up her hair and took the controller Laurens was offering her.

“In your dreams little sister,” said Eliza, settling into her video game stance. The countdown started, and everyone watched the final race, holding their breath at every turn and jump.

In the last lap, it seemed like Eliza and Alexander were going to win. They were fifteen feet in front of Peggy as she ran over a mystery box and got a boost. She hit the trigger as fast as she could and in the very last moment possible, passed Alexander to finish in first place. The room erupted into cheers as Peggy and Laurens jumped up, laughing and dancing and shouting, “We won! We won! We won! WE WON!”

“Settle down, settle down,” said Angelica, laughing, “Well played Peggy. You’re two for two today.”

“It’s not fair,” pouted Alexander, “It’s my birthday, and I’ve been in second place twice.”

“Why don’t you cry about it?” said Peggy as she hip-bumped Laurens. Everyone laughed, and Alexander scowled.

“I don’t know about you all, but I want to go up to the parlor for a little while. See you at dinner,” said Angelica.

“I’ll join you,” said Aaron, and he followed Angelica up the stairs. Peggy ran into the studio, and Laurens followed her quietly. Lafayette whispered something in Hercules’s ear, and Hercules laughed, before pulling him up the stairs, leaving Eliza and Alexander alone in the living room.

Eliza moved over to Alexander’s side and he put his arm around her shoulders. They sat there in silence and Alexander looked out the window. “Look!” he shouted and he jumped off the couch and ran to the window. Eliza fell onto her side but quickly sat up. She looked out the window and saw that it was snowing again. It had snowed four inches over the past week, and it was snowing heavily now. Alexander loved snow as a result of not having seen any in person for the first seventeen years of his life. He always went outside when it was snowing, regardless of the time. Eliza would go outside with him sometimes but she still didn’t fully understand his fixation on it (“It’s just like soft cold rain!”). Lafayette was always ready to see Alexander being weird, except after midnight and before 7 am. Laurens was always ready to go outside with Alexander, even if it meant being shaken awake vigorously at 1 am.

Before Eliza had time to process what was going on, Alexander had put on his boots and snowpants and was pulling on a coat. “Are you coming?”

“Sure,” Eliza said, and she stood up and put on her snow clothes. Alexander waited by the door, bouncing around like a puppy dog anxious to go outside. As soon as her coat was zipped up, Alexander threw the door open and began running around, spinning in circles, and catching falling snow on his tongue. Eliza sat down on the brick edge of the porch and waited for him to exhaust himself. When he finally did, he practically fell onto his back in the snow. Eliza walked over to where he was and laid down with their heads touching so they made a line.

“Isn’t this beautiful?” said Alexander, looking up at the sky.

“It really is,” said Eliza, “It’s a beautiful blue and the flecks of white shine like glitter.” There was a short pause, before she said quietly, “I wish I had blue eyes.”

Alexander picked his head up slightly and tried to look at her lying behind him without sitting up. “Your eyes are gorgeous. They’re brown like milk chocolate, but they have these gold flecks that make your whole face sparkle.” He lied back down, “Besides, I wasn’t talking about the sky. I was talking about being here with you.”

Eliza turned red. “Thank you Alexander. It’s amazing how you can say something so simple and make it so beautiful.”

Alexander shrugged, “It’s a skill.”

“It’s funny,” said Eliza, half-laughing, “We’ve been dating for over four years, and for seven months before that, and you can still make me blush just by complimenting me.”

Eliza and Alexander had been dating for four years and four months after a two and a half month break in 2011. They had started dating in November 2010, Eliza’s freshman year, and broke up in June 2011. They had first met at the Schuyler mansion. Angelica and Alexander were together, and she had invited him over for a family party. Eliza thought very highly of her sister’s boyfriend, but didn’t say anything until Angelica and Alexander split up a few months later. When Eliza started college, Alexander dropped by Angelica’s dorm room to see her schedule and saw Eliza there. He half remembered her and said, “Oh, the second Schuyler. Eliza, right?” After a month of Eliza trying to shyly flirt with Alexander, Alexander started to take a hint. He asked Lafayette if the line, “If it takes breaking up with your sister for us to meet it will have been worth it,” would work, to which Lafayette responded, “Do you want this girl to date you or punch you in the face?” Once they finally started dating, Alexander and Eliza were very much in love with each other, but Alexander still had a bit of a wandering eye. He had been working as a TA and worked very closely and frequently with a student in his class, Maria Reynolds. One night, Alexander and Maria played a drinking game and the next day they woke up in bed together. Eliza was stressing out about her grades as she moved towards the end of her freshman year, and Alexander was very lonely. What Alexander didn’t know was that Maria was still dating a guy in her hometown, James, who happened to have the same last name. James warned Alexander to back off his girl, but Alexander and Maria just couldn’t keep their hands off each other. When James started telling his friends at Maria’s school that her TA was giving her a better grade because they were sleeping together, Alexander wrote a ten page open letter detailing the nature of his relationship with Maria. As soon as Eliza found out, she broke up with him. In fact, most of his friends estranged him for a little while except for Aaron, who helped Alexander decide how to make amends. When September rolled around again, Alexander spent the first half of the month begging Eliza to give him a second chance and explaining what he felt about relationships and the extent of his love for her, but the fact that sometimes he just needed other people to be with. Eliza had been very accepting, as had all the friends once Alexander explained his situation to them. Eliza sometimes worried that Alexander would just leave her out of nowhere, but she made sure to talk to him anytime she felt like this because Alexander was always ready to listen.

Alexander sat up and pulled Eliza up next to him. He wrapped his arm around her and she curled up a little towards him. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, watching the snow falling.

“I love you Eliza.”

“I love you too Alexander.”

“Can you imagine if we hadn't found each other?”

Eliza shook her head. “There's no way I'd be as happy. I mean, you'd have Laurens, but I would just be alone.”

Alexander turned his head to look at her. “I need you both Eliza. I’d be unhappy without you, and I'd be unhappy without Laurens. I need you Elizabeth Schuyler.”

She looked at him and smiled. “I need you Alexander Hamilton.”

He smiled and leaned towards her. He kissed her gently and began to pull himself back, but Eliza grabbed the back of his head and held him there. Slightly taken aback, Alexander wrapped his arms around Eliza as she leaned even closer into him. Eliza made a quick movement, and Alexander was on his back in the snow with Eliza lying on top of him. Eliza pulled herself back and swept a loose hair behind her ear. Alexander smiled up at her and said, “I like this Eliza. Where is this all coming from?”

Eliza smiled sheepishly. “I guess I've always been afraid to make the first move, but we've been together for four years. It's now or never, right?”

“Well, personally, I find you making the first move extremely hot.”

“Oh shut up,” Eliza laughed and she leaned down to his face again.

The thing with making out in the snow is snow is cold. Your body gets warmer and you think it's a good idea to take off your coat, but it's still 28° outside. And no matter what anyone says, hypothermia is not sexy. So after about twenty minutes outside Eliza stood up and pulled Alexander to his feet. “You want to go inside?”

Alexander nodded and smirked. “That doesn't mean we’re done, does it?”

Eliza smirked and raised her eyebrow. “Not a chance in hell.” Alexander laughed and threw his arm around Eliza’s waist as they walked into the house. They took off their snow clothes and walked into the living room. Alexander sat down on the couch and Eliza threw herself over him so that her legs were on his lap and her arms were around his neck. She giggled and leaned in to kiss him. Just like their relationship, Alexander and Eliza kissing was always very dynamic. Sometimes it was sweet and adorable, sometimes it was very passionate. Sometimes Eliza was clearly in charge, sometimes Alexander, sometimes it was unclear. After a few minutes, Eliza was lying down on the couch and Alexander was sitting over her. He had pulled her hair down and was running his fingers through it while he kissed her and Eliza was holding onto his head like her life depended on it.

Peggy came into the living room and cleared her throat loudly. Neither of them reacted. Peggy cleared her throat again. Still nothing, so she shouted, “GROSS!” Alexander started forward and hit his forehead on Eliza’s. Both groaned as they sat up and disentangled themselves. “You two are out of control.”

“C’mon Peggy. It's just kissing. It's not like you've never stayed up late kissing someone.”

Eliza laughed and Peggy threw the nearest pillow at Alexander’s head. “Angelica and Aaron want everyone in the parlor. They have some question or announcement or something.”

Eliza and Alexander stood up and followed Peggy out of the room. “Did you get Herc and Laf already? They might not be ready to come out,” said Eliza. Alexander smirked and Peggy rolled her eyes.

“It's been an hour and a half since we split off.”

“Doesn't mean they're ready,” Alexander whispered and Eliza giggled. Peggy sighed.

“Sexual people are so weird.”

“Hey! We are the majority!” said Alexander as Peggy took the stairs two at a time.

The three of them turned into the parlor. Aaron and Angelica were sitting in armchairs side-by-side, Hercules and Lafayette had taken one of the loveseats, and Laurens was leaning against one of the floor length windows. Alexander sat down on one of the many couches and Laurens and Eliza sat down on opposite sides of him. Peggy took Laurens’s vacated spot leaning on the window. Angelica cleared her throat and looked at Aaron.

“Oh, well, I guess I’ll go first,” he stammered, “Umm so I know we’ve only been together for a short time but I am really taken with Theodosia so I’m going to ask her to move in here with me.”

“In your room?” asked Lafayette, barely containing a smirk.

“I mean I guess that’d be up to her.”

“Yeah,” said Eliza, “There are still two empty rooms on our floor if she wants her own room.”

“But,” said Angelica, turning swiftly and suddenly to face Aaron, “We are not turning either of those rooms into a nursery anytime soon, got it?”

Aaron nodded meekly and everyone laughed. “Good for you Burr,” said Alexander, “Making the first move. Taking a risk. Maybe you’re more like me than you thought after all.”

“God save us all,” said Hercules and everyone laughed again. “But in all seriousness, I’m happy for you Burr. I really like this girl. She’s gotta be one of my favorite girls you’ve dated. I hope you’re happy together.”

Laurens leaned over to Alexander and whispered, “She’s definitely your favorite of Burr’s girlfriends, huh?” Alexander smacked him.

Alexander had introduced Theodosia and Aaron to each other. Alexander had been tutoring Theodosia, and, as was often the case with women (and men) who met Alexander, Theodosia was very interested in him, so tutoring quickly became “tutoring.” One day Alexander was delayed in coming back to the dorm which he was sharing with Aaron to meet Theodosia, so Aaron answered when she knocked. They talked for a while, and after Alexander returned and Theodosia eventually left, Aaron asked Alexander about her. Alexander saw his “innocent questions” for what they were, and asked Theodosia if she had any interest in Aaron. When she said she did, Alexander and Theodosia peacefully went their separate ways; Alexander back to Laurens and Theodosia to Aaron. In running with his personality, Aaron didn't want any distractions in university, so he and Theodosia became very close friends as Aaron finished up his degree. In May 2012, Aaron finally worked up his nerve and asked out a delighted Theodosia. They dated for seven months before having a very volatile fight and splitting up. They got back together in February 2014 and had been inseparable ever since. Sometimes Aaron would go over to her house and not be back by the time the friends went to bed, but he'd be at breakfast the next morning. No one knew exactly when Aaron came home on these days except Lafayette, whose room was right next to Aaron’s. But he never said anything. Lafayette believed that everyone, even Aaron, deserved a little privacy, and maybe he could trade this information for a favor some day.

“So when's she moving in?” asked Alexander.

“I'm going to ask her tomorrow, so probably next week I guess,” Aaron replied.

“So what's Angelica’s thing?” asked Peggy from the window and all eyes turned to Angelica.

“Don't worry, my thing isn't as big as Aaron’s. I just wanted to warn you that I'm having some friends over Tuesday night.”

“Who?” asked Eliza eagerly, “Is it Abigail and her boyfriend?”

Alexander groaned. Abigail was fine, but her boyfriend John had never gotten along with Alexander. Maybe it was because even though they were very similar people, people liked Alexander more almost universally.

“No, I know better than to invite John Adams into this house without consulting Alexander. No, it's my friends Thomas and James.”

Everyone looked confused except Alexander, who jumped out of his seat. “Thomas Jefferson and James Madison! God Angelica!”

“Oh, you know them?”

“Know them? I worked with them on the newspaper. Jefferson and I are on the opposite side of every issue. Madison is alright I guess, but he acts like Jefferson’s lackey a lot.”

“Thomas isn't that bad Alexander. Sometimes he says some mildly problematic things, but he's from a different part of the country. He was never told that those things are problematic. And James is just quiet, like Peggy.” Peggy started and looked at Angelica, clearly thinking.

“Laurens is from the South and he's normal!”

Angelica sighed. “Not everyone can be as amazing as Laurens, Alexander. Sit down. You don't have to hang out with them, I just wanted you to know what's going on.”

Laurens pulled Alexander into his seat. “She's right you know.”

“About what?”

“Not everyone can be as amazing as me.” Eliza giggled and Alexander half-smirked.

“That's it right? No more bombshells?” asked Alexander reluctantly.

Everyone shook their head except Peggy, who was staring at Angelica. “Are you alright Peggy?” Angelica asked softly.

Peggy started again and shook her head. “I'm fine. Just...memories.” Her sisters looked a little confused, but Alexander and Laurens exchanged a knowing look. “What time is it?”

Hercules checked Lafayette’s watch. “Quarter past four.”

“Can someone order so we can eat in an hour?”

“I've got it,” said Lafayette, “pizza?” Everyone nodded and dispersed. Lafayette pulled out his cell phone to order pizza as he dragged Hercules out of the room. Angelica and Eliza started talking and went off into Angelica’s room. Aaron went down to the living room to finish reading the newspaper, and Peggy practically flew up the stairs to the third floor. Alexander and Laurens looked at each other before following her up the stairs. Alexander opened the door to his study and saw Peggy curled up in one of the armchairs. Laurens shut the door and locked it, and the two men walked over to Peggy’s side, each putting a hand on one of her shoulders.

“You're aware that my study isn't a good place to hide from me, right?” Alexander laughed. Laurens smiled.

“Not from you,” Peggy sniffled, and the smiles disappeared from both men’s faces. Neither of them had ever seen any of the Schuylers cry, and neither of them had a clue how to comfort an eighteen year old girl.

“What's wrong?” asked Laurens. Peggy mumbled something incomprehensible into the cushion of the armchair. “You have to sit up so we can hear you Peggy.”

She sat up and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. She was a mess. Her eyes were red and watering, her eyelashes were clumped together, and dried tears had left streaks on her cheeks. “It's just...everyone else is so happy all the time. You two have each other, Alexander and Eliza have each other, Hercules and Lafayette are adorable, Aaron and Theodosia are incredibly cute, Angelica has all her college friends, and I just have me.”

“You've got us Peggy,” said Alexander.

“But it's not the same! I don't have anyone my age. You're seven and eight years older than me. That's not normal! I have two friends my age and no boyfriend, not even romantic prospects. All my exes are finding people and I'm still alone. Lafayette and Hercules are inseparable. Even Burr found Theodosia. And they're going to get married, I can tell already.”

“You don't know that—”

“Please Laurens, he's never looked at anyone the way he looks at her. And when he talks about her—”

“The same way he looked at you and the same way he still talks about you,” said Laurens. Peggy tried to wave him off, but he persisted. “He really loved you Peggy. The way he looked at you and talked about you, I've never seen anything like it. He still loves you, just in a more platonic way. He’ll never stop caring about you.”

“But at least he has someone to love non-platonically. I still love him, and I think I always will, but I don't have anyone else.”

“He was your first true love, but believe me Peggy, he won't be your last,” said Alexander.

“Who were your first loves?”

Alexander and Laurens sat down in chairs next to Peggy’s. They looked at each other, clearly unsure what the other was going to say. Then Laurens looked back at Peggy and said, “Well at the time I thought it was Martha but that wasn't true love. I don't know what that was. So I guess my first true love was Alexander.”

Alexander turned red and said, “Funny you should say that, because I may have dated a lot in high school, but you were still my first true love.”

“You're not helping guys! You were each other's first loves and you're still together.”

“But Laurens wasn't my last true love. Remember, I found your sister too. And ask Hercules if Lafayette was his first love, because he'll probably give you a long list of girls before he even gets to meeting Lafayette. Eliza had, like, four crazy intense loves before she even met me, and Angelica? She’d still say she hasn’t found her true love”

Peggy sighed. “I just worry, you know. Side effects of anxiety, right?” She half-laughed and the boys smiled. “How much time until dinner?”

Laurens checked Alexander’s desk clock. “It’s half past so probably an hour. What do you want to do until then?”

“Would you rather?” Alexander ventured, and the other two nodded.

“Peggy, would you rather throw up on your crush or fall down the stairs in front of all your friends except your crush?” asked Laurens.

“Hmm….” Peggy pondered the question. “Fall down the stairs. Alexander, would you rather hook up with Burr or Lafayette?”

Alexander chuckled to himself. “What’s so funny?” asked Laurens indignantly.

“Oh, I’ll tell you tonight. Burr.”

“Why can’t you tell us now?” huffed Peggy.

“Because, dearest Margarita and darling John” ––both grimaced at the use of their first names–– “it’s the kind of thing that would distract you from what’s important and is currently happening. And you might start making jokes about the information, and then I would be in a tight spot.”

Laurens and Peggy exchanged a look. “Oookay Alexander, whatever you say,” said Laurens, still not fully convinced.

“Laurens,” said Alexander, “would you rather have Janet move in with us but have to call Martha twice a month and talk to her, or have Janet continue to live with Martha and you only get to see her once every two months?”

Janet was Laurens’s ten year old daughter and Martha was her mother. Martha and Laurens had been best friends in high school and thought that going out at the end of their sophomore and most of junior year would be a good idea. They were wrong. Two things came out of their relationship that year: Janet and Laurens realizing he was gay. Martha finished up her junior year from home and returned for senior year, only to be dumped by her daughter’s father because he was gay. He swore he would help out, but Martha didn't want him around. Both of them graduated in disgrace. After graduation Martha forgave Laurens, but she still had sole custody of Janet. Laurens loved his daughter and missed her frequently, because Martha and Janet lived down in Massachusetts. According to Martha, Janet was sharp as a tack, but a little bit of a troublemaker, much like her father. In the Palace, only Alexander and Peggy knew about Janet’s existence. Laurens had told them around 2 am five years ago. It was good they found out because a few days later, Martha came by and dropped off five year old Janet to visit her father. Only Peggy was home, because Alexander and Laurens had gone into town for some work and everyone else was down at school prepping for their last final. When Alexander had walked into the kitchen and seen thirteen year old Peggy playing with a five year old, he shrieked before Peggy said, “Laurens, Martha dropped off Janet.” The three of them spent the day with Janet and all of them were sad when Martha came to pick her up. Laurens explained to Alexander that Janet had actually been the cause of their first breakup: he'd gotten a letter from Martha and been overcome with guilt for not telling Alexander about his family, but didn't know how to say anything, so he just broke up with him. Alexander laughed, but Peggy had told Laurens off. Laurens had still been drinking heavily, and Peggy said that was no way for a father to behave and threatened to call Martha and tell her not to bring Janet over again. When Laurens saw that Peggy was dead serious, he cleaned up his act, and quickly. Janet was tied with Alexander for number one motivation in Laurens’s life. He felt like he'd let Martha and Janet down once already, and he wasn't keen on doing it again.  
“The first one,” said Laurens, “I’d tolerate talking to Martha if it meant I could have Janet here with me.”

“You guys aren't on bad terms, are you?” asked Peggy.

“No, I just...whenever I talk to her I feel like I abandoned them both,” said Laurens, “It's stupid since we had a very long discussion about me going off to university and moving north and how I wasn't running away from her. But I wonder sometimes if it was all true. Maybe I was running away from her. Maybe I was trying to run away from myself. Maybe I thought I could leave my mistakes in South Carolina.” He laughed, a short bitter laugh that sounded more like a bark than a laugh. “That was wishful thinking.”

A heavy silence followed these words. “Maybe don't use mistake when you talk to her,” said Peggy, “She doesn't need to know she wasn't planned.”

“She’s ten Peggy. She's going to ask soon. And I still haven't found an adequate way to say, ‘You were a mistake, but you're the best mistake I've ever made and I wouldn't undo it for the world.’ She's my daughter and I love her, but I haven't found a way to say it that I would believe if I were in her place.”

There was another heavy silence. “She'll believe you Laurens,” said Alexander quietly, “She's your daughter and she loves you. Even when she'll hate you, she'll love you. And hey, you're still a hell of a lot better than my dad.” Alexander smiled a weak smile and Peggy rubbed his back.

“I mean, I'm trying right? But it's been ten years and I still don't think I've managed to satisfactorily explain any of what happened to Martha. I got her pregnant and then I left. In one quick move I lost my first best friend, the only person who had ever fully accepted me for me. I'm not good with words like you Alexander. I don't know how to make her believe me.”

“You can't make someone believe you,” said Peggy, “You can only be honest and hope that they trust you enough to believe you.”

“I love them both,” said Laurens, “I'm just not in love with Martha. Does that make any sense?”

Both Alexander and Peggy nodded enthusiastically and Alexander smirked. “Did you miss Peggy’s whole thing about Burr? We’re both there Laurens.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be out Wednesday September 6 by 10 pm EST


	3. Palace Day Part Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's explicit sexual content after, “Goodnight Peggy.” The rest of the chapter is just that, so you can finish reading there if you choose. 
> 
> Eliza, Laurens, Herc, Lafayette, and Theo were in college for four years, Aaron and Angelica for three, and Alexander for two.

Laurens opened his mouth to say something, but Lafayette called up the stairs, “Hey you three! It's dinner time geniuses!” Laurens sprung up and unlocked the door and the three friends slid down the banister, ran through the second floor hallway, and slid down the banister again, almost running into Lafayette with the pizzas as they jumped off the railing. “Mother of God!” Lafayette shouted, “Since when do we have three twelve year olds in the house?” Alexander and Laurens laughed as Peggy mussed Lafayette’s hair. 

“Calm down, why don't you? It's a celebration night! Alexander's 26!” Peggy started a war call, and Alexander and Laurens copied her as they ran into the kitchen and sat around the counter. Hercules, Aaron, Angelica and Eliza were all sitting and stared at the three of them as they ran in, which Peggy, Laurens, and Alexander responded to with broad grins. 

“Thank god,” said Laurens as Lafayette set the pizzas down on the table and opened one, “I'm so hungry.”

“Laurens how can you be this hungry?” asked Angelica incredulously, “You ate two whole burritos not three hours ago!”

Everyone looked at Laurens, who shrugged and mumbled, “I don't know,” through a mouthful of pizza. 

“I bet I can eat more pizza than Laurens,” said Peggy, pulling a slice out of the pie for herself. Hercules and Laurens laughed. 

“I wouldn't get into this if I were you Peggy,” said Alexander, “I've seen Laurens eat an entire pie and a half by himself.”

“I don't know,” Aaron interjected, “I've seen Peggy eat an entire 16 piece fried chicken meal by herself. Chicken, fries, biscuits–everything.”

“Fine,” said Laurens, “You up for a challenge little Peggy?”

Peggy looked at her sisters. Eliza smiled and narrowed her eyes, and Angelica raised her eyebrows and nodded. Peggy glanced quickly at Alexander, who shrugged. She looked Laurens dead in the eye and said, “I'm up for anything.”

“There are only three pies,” said Lafayette, “And the rest of us need to eat, so you two can only have one pizza for your little game.”

“Fine by me,” said Peggy. 

“Whoever eats the most wins,” said Laurens and Peggy nodded. “Loser has to buy the winner a lunch of the winner’s choice sometime this week.” Laurens proffered his hand and Peggy shook it. 

“You're on John,” she said, pulling her hand back and putting up her hair, “May the best eater win.”

“I intend to,” said Laurens, moving the pizza box to be between the two of them. 

“You're a lot of talk sometimes. You know that right?”

“I–”

“Hush up. More eating, less talking.”

The other six watched, slowly eating their own pizza and whispering every once in a while while Peggy and Laurens sat eating silently. Peggy shoved slice after slice into her mouth and Laurens scarfed down pizza until the only slices left were on their plates. “Laurens, how many have you had?”

“Two. You?”

Peggy grinned broadly. “Four.” Peggy excitedly downed her last piece and stood up with a shout of victory. Everyone clapped as Peggy danced around the kitchen. 

“Now that Peggy and Laurens are done being disgusting,”–they both stuck their tongues out at Alexander–“can we have cake?”

Eliza, Lafayette, and Laurens looked at each other and laughed. They stood up and walked over to “So funny story,” began Laurens, “I remembered you said how much you loved buttercream frosting and I cannot cook for shit, so I bought a vanilla cake with buttercream frosting.” He pulled a cake the color of the Caribbean sea with dark green writing that said “Happy Birthday Alexander” out of the cupboard. 

“I love to bake, and I didn't know anyone else was making or getting a cake until yesterday, so I made a cheesecake,” said Lafayette, pulling a raspberry cheesecake out of the oven. 

“And I remembered that you said you'd never had ice cream cake for your birthday, so I bought this.” Eliza pulled a white cake with green flowers and blue writing that said “Happy 26th Birthday Alexander Hamilton” out of the freezer. 

“So which do you want?” all three asked. 

Everyone looked to Alexander who giggled and said, “All three! Three cakes from three of my friends!”

Alexander got his wish, Eliza, Laurens, and Lafayette each cutting a slice of their cake for him. Hercules had Lafayette’s cheesecake, Angelica took a piece of ice cream cake, Aaron and Peggy both took vanilla cake, and Laurens  _ tried _ to eat all three. He was halfway through his piece of cheesecake when he leaned, back, yawning and stretching.

“Full Laurens?” Hercules teased from the kitchen counter, before eating a bite of cheesecake off Lafayette’s fork. Peggy turned around and stuck her finger in her mouth, pretending to gag. Hercules threw a towel at her while everyone else laughed.

“Nah I just don’t want to eat too much.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have eaten so much pizza baby,” Alexander said, kissing Laurens on the cheek.

“Please,” Laurens laughed and squeezed Alexander close to him, “I can eat more than anyone.”

“Not more than Peggy,” Eliza remarked, smirking and taking a bite of her ice cream cake. Laurens made eye contact with Eliza before kissing Alexander’s forehead. Eliza rolled her eyes and snorted.

“I know you can,” said Alexander, still entirely preoccupied with Laurens, “But if you throw up at any time tonight, there is no more making out after that point.”

Laurens looked at Alexander, trying to gauge his seriousness. When Alexander raised his eyebrows, Laurens sighed and put down his fork. “As you wish, my little prince.”

“Ack!” shouted Angelica, covering her ears, “No one needs to hear your bedroom talk or about anyone’s kinks thank you!” Everyone laughed and slowly moved into the living room.

“What movie do you want to watch?” Lafayette asked Alexander.

Alexander grinned and Aaron, Hercules, and Peggy all groaned. Everyone knew what Alexander was going to say. He jumped up on the coffee table and shouted, “Grease lightning!”

Angelica loaded the DVD player and Alexander jumped off the table, curling up on the couch and putting his head in Eliza’s lap. Laurens sat in an armchair, Hercules sat down on the other couch and pulled Lafayette onto his lap, Peggy curled up into her usual spot by the fireplace, and Angelica crossed her legs on the floor in front of Laurens. Aaron looked around the room before walking quietly up to Peggy and asking, “Can I sit here?”

Peggy nodded and scooted over. Aaron sat down, leaning on his hands with his legs outstretched in front of him.

The opening music started playing and Eliza laughed as Alexander started bopping up and down.  _ Grease _ had always been his favorite movie for whatever strange reason.

As the cartoon opening sequence faded into the front of Rydell High, Angelica said, “Isn’t this movie really demeaning to women? I mean the way that the main problem gets fixed is Sandy changes for Danny. That’s really un-feminist.”

Alexander opened his mouth, but Peggy cut her off with, “But the most badass character is Rizzo, a girl who has sex with guys in the back of cars and climbs out windows and doesn’t give two shits what anyone thinks.”

“It really is a product and reflection of its time,” Eliza piped up.

“It’s not about any of that!” Alexander said, “I don’t watch it for the plot. I watch it for the music. And the memories.”

“The memories?” Eliza asked.

Laurens smiled. “ _ Grease _ was the movie that was showing at the first campus movie night Alex and I went to together.”

Laurens winked and Alexander grinned but his grin vaporized when Eliza turned to him sharply, “You never told me that story!”

“I have told you that story at least three times!”

“No you–”

“Will you shut up?” Hercules shouted. “I’m trying to watch the movie.” The room went quiet again, all attention fixed on the movie. Alexander looked around at his friends. It was moments like this that he recognized how much he needed all of them. Angelica and Lafayette were chatter boxes, always ready to go off on some tangent or other and down for just about anything. Hercules and Peggy were quieter and each kept the peace in their own weird ways. Eliza and Laurens doted on Alexander, and if Alexander was perfectly honest with himself he loved being doted on, especially by people he loved back. And Aaron… Well, Aaron was different. 

Alexander had met Aaron Burr during Alexander’s sophomore year of college when Aaron moved into his dorm room. Aaron was quiet at first, listening to Alexander’s rambling about everything from college to politics, not saying anything of consequence until Alexander started talking about John. “Oh, you're gay?” He had sounded kind of hopeful, but Alexander had explained that he was “open to anything,” as he so commonly explained it in those days. The boys became friends because of their matching personalities, but clashed over politics and beliefs, namely that Alexander felt that Aaron had no real beliefs. They had both been involved in student government, and the newspaper, and the same fraternity. If you ever found one of them, the other couldn’t be more than a few feet away. Six years after Alexander had graduated college*, Aaron was still the odd one of the group. He didn’t socialize much, kept to himself, and (except for Peggy) dated only outside their friend group. Aaron was often heartbreakingly realistic, making him the wet blanket in a house of matches and lighters. Alexander liked keeping him around for balance, and because he knew Aaron didn’t really have anyone else. Peggy, Eliza, and Angelica didn’t mind because they mostly got along with Aaron. Lafayette laughed at Aaron’s ridiculous behaviors, but mostly got along with him too. It was only Laurens and Hercules who sometimes actively opposed Aaron living in the house, and only because they were extremely combative and Aaron wasn’t combative enough.

Alexander sang along to every song, jumping around the living room and messing with his friends. He went to sit down next to Eliza again after “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee,” but Laurens sat up a little and said, “Someone promised me cuddling during the movie when they woke me up this morning.”

“But there’s no space on that chair,” Alexander said sarcastically and playfully.

Laurens pretended to think for a moment and then said, “You’re right. I guess you’ll just have to sit on my lap.”

Alexander laughed and started to say something else when Hercules growled, “Hamilton if you don’t sit the fuck down right now–” Alexander practically flew onto Laurens’s lap and Lafayette laughed, kissing Hercules on the cheek.

During the drive-in scene, Aaron put his arm around Peggy. She sat up a little straighter before relaxing into Aaron’s touch and leaning her head onto his shoulder. Lafayette snickered and Hercules said, “Theo better watch out. How’s Aaron going to deal with two girls he loves living in the same house?”

Aaron threw him a dirty look but Peggy just sighed and said, “Friends are allowed to hug friends Hercules.”

Hercules laughed. “Not when those ‘friends’ are exes Peggy.”

Peggy turned around and said, “You want me to start talking about all of your exes? Janice, Caitlin, Emma, Toni…”

Hercules’s smile became mechanical and he said, “You can stop talking any time now Peggy.” She grinned a malicious grin and batted her eyes before turning around and leaning further into Aaron’s shoulder.

Alexander, Eliza, Lafayette, and Angelica sang along to “We Go Together,” and everyone else sighed with relief when the end credits rolled. They didn’t dislike  _ Grease _ , but seeing a movie once every four months makes it less exciting. 

“What time is it?”

Hercules looked at his watch. “Ten to nine.”

Angelica stood up and cracked her back. “I promised Eliza I would do her nails tonight. You want to do it now, Lizzie?”

Eliza stood up and nodded. She kissed Alexander and Laurens on their foreheads and followed her sister up to their adjoined rooms. 

Hercules whispered to Lafayette, “Should we go?” Lafayette nodded and laughed. “We’re going upstairs,” Hercules announced.

“Have fun,” Alexander laughed, wiggling his fingers as Hercules practically carried Lafayette upstairs. He turned around to look at Aaron, Laurens, and Peggy, who were the only ones left in the living room. “Laurens, Peggy, shall we retire up to my room?” They nodded. “Aaron, you’re welcome to join us if you want to.”

“Thank you, but I should head up to my room. Some of us have work tomorrow.” He stood up and went up the stairs to his room.

“Shall we?” Laurens asked, and Peggy and Alexander followed him up the stairs to Alexander’s bedroom. 

Opening the door and settling on Alexander’s beanbag chair, Peggy said, “I almost forgot, you said you would tell us why it was funny that we asked you if you’d rather hook up with Lafayette or Burr?”

Alexander and Laurens sat down on the bed, Laurens and Peggy both watching Alexander expectantly. “Because I’ve hooked up with both of them.”

Laurens and Peggy’s eyes bugged and they both said, “What?”

“You knew about Lafayette.”

Laurens laughed. “That’s not the one that surprised us. When the hell did you and Burr hook up?”

“One night in college before he started dating Theo we were arguing, I think about Theo, and we were both really pissed and I said something about how if he could satisfy people maybe he’d find someone and he said, ‘Oh yeah?’ and then we were hooking up.”

“Well, was it good?” Laurens asked.

“I feel like that’s a weird question for me to answer in this company. My boyfriend, Aaron’s ex-girlfriend…”

“Just answer the question!” Laurens and Peggy shouted.

“Fine! Yes, it was good, especially for someone I thought was straight before that.”

“Damn,” Peggy said, leaning further back into the beanbag chair. “Are Herc and I the only people in this house you haven’t fucked Alexander?”

“Yes.”

“But you did date Aaron,” Laurens said, “I mean, how did that even start?”

“Well, he came home one New Year’s Eve and he was crying because Theo and him had had a terrible breakup so I comforted him and he kissed me at midnight. Then we just kept cuddling and kissing, but we couldn’t really talk about it.”

“Why not?” Alexander asked.

“Because I was fifteen and he was twenty-one and Angelica would have murdered him.” She sighed. “I never told you guys this, but I considered having sex with Aaron.”

Laurens looked from Peggy to Alexander and back. “I thought you didn’t want to have sex.”

“I don’t want to, but I’d do it for someone I really loved, you know? I’d try to communicate to them about how it isn’t something I want to do, but I’d want someone I loved to be happy.”

Alexander and Laurens nodded. The room fell silent, Peggy looking at the floor with her arms crossed. A few minutes later, Alexander broke the silence. “Peggy, don’t you think you should get to bed? After all it is a school day.”

“I’m off tomorrow.”

Alexander grimaced and raised his eyebrows and only then did Peggy notice Laurens’s hand moving slowly up Alexander’s leg.

“Oh,” she said, flustered and blushing, “Yeah sure. Uh… goodnight!” 

Peggy rushed out of the room and slammed the door behind her, but the slam didn’t drown out Laurens saying, “Finally! We’re alone.”

Peggy wasn’t tired, but the two people she could talk to more easily than anyone were probably already naked on Alexander’s bed. Peggy shivered, and wondered where she could go. She thought for a second, before walking down the hall to Aaron’s room. She knocked on his door, which promptly opened just enough for Aaron to stick his head through. “Peggy?”

“I'm sorry about Hercules making fun of us during the movie and I'm sorry about coming to your room so late but I had to admit that the only reason things are still so awkward is I'm still in love with you and I don't know how to deal with it.” The words rushed out of Peggy’s mouth the way that sometimes in the summer the sky opens up and it just seems to pour for hours. Peggy took in a deep breath and looked like she was going to hurl.

“Do you want to come in?” Aaron asked. Peggy nodded shyly, afraid everyone else on the floor had already heard her. It was only when she was walking past him that Peggy realized Aaron was shirtless. 

The lock clicked and Aaron sat down on the edge of his bed, motioning for Peggy to join him. “I still love you too Peggy. Don't you think it kills me every day to look over my cereal and see a girl I love?”

Peggy shook her head. “Then why date Theo at all?”

“I love her too. But if you said you weren't feeling this,” he brushed a curl out of her face, “We both know you'd be lying.” Aaron laid down, his head a few inches below the pillow. “Come here.”

Peggy considered, but at two thirty three a.m. everyone has less rational thoughts. She laid down next to Aaron, who wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer. Peggy smiled at Aaron, and he smiled back at her. His eyes half-closed he leaned forward, his lips slowly, tantalizingly brushing against Peggy’s. Peggy’s eyes fluttered shut as she leaned into the kiss slightly, barely sucking on Aaron’s lower lip. Their mouths moved slowly, both hampered by exhaustion. Three minutes later, Peggy’s head dropped onto the mattress and her eyes opened slightly, her nose still brushing against Aaron’s. “Goodnight Aaron.”

He smiled and pulled a blanket over the two of them. “Goodnight Peggy.”

 

A few rooms down, Alexander was pinned to his bed. Laurens was on top of him, pressing Alexander into the mattress with his lips on Alexander’s neck and his hands on Alexander’s hips. “I love you Alexander.”

Alexander closed his eyes and tipped his head back. “I love you too.”

Laurens laughed, the rumbling sound moving slowly through Alexander’s neck and into his torso. “I can't believe you made out with Burr.”

Alexander pushed Laurens back and sat up, looking in his eyes. “Does it make you want me less?”

“Please,” Laurens laughed, “Nothing short of homicide could make me want you less.” He pushed Alexander back into the mattress and moved his head back to the base of Alexander's neck, sucking gently on the place where his neck joined his shoulders. 

“So I can kill Jefferson when he visits?” Alexander breathed. 

“Do you ever shut up?”

“Not without good reason.”

“I'll give you one then.” Laurens moved his lips back to Alexander’s. Alexander groaned slightly and Laurens took the opportunity to explore Alexander’s mouth with his tongue. Alexander's hands roved over Laurens's body, grabbing his hair and shoulders and hips and thighs and ass. Laurens pulled back. “Someone's full of energy.”

“Can you blame me? It's been two and a half weeks!”

“Don't tell me you haven't taken Eliza to bed just because I stopped taking you.” Laurens always found Alexander’s reactions to dry spells entertaining. He would act a little aloof and cold before succumbing to Laurens’s warm gaze and hands. 

Alexander looked at him. “You know it's not the same. Not the same love, not the same—”

“Sex?”

Alexander smiled sheepishly and nodded. “It's not the same. See, Eliza lacks the desire to fuck me in the ass for some reason.”

“And the hardware,” Laurens laughed. 

“Are we going to make jokes or get busy?”

“I'm fine with either baby,” Laurens teased, stroking Alexander’s cheek with the back of his hand. Alexander shivered as Laurens’s knuckles brushed his neck. Laurens chuckled, “I think you want something specific though.”

Alexander pulled Laurens into a long kiss and whispered, “Fuck me John.”

“Gladly,” Laurens whispered before pulling his shirt off. He played with the bottom of Alexander’s shirt, running his fingers delicately across the skin of Alexander's abs and hips. Alexander sighed before he pulled his shirt off and pulled Laurens close to him, their torsos pressed so closely together it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. Alexander tangled his fingers in Laurens’s long hair and pulled hard. 

“Aaalexx…” Laurens half-sighed, half-hissed, his head tipping back before his mouth started roving over Alexander’s neck and chest. Laurens slipped his hands off Alexander’s hips and around to grab his ass. Alexander squeaked and Laurens stifled a laugh. 

“Dear Laurens,” Alexander whispered into his ear, slipping his hands from Laurens’s neck to his waistband, “Why are we both still wearing pants?”

“I don't know,” breathed Laurens, “Why don't you fix that problem baby?”

Alexander gladly did, pulling Laurens's pants off before shimmying out of his own. “I love you John Laurens,” he breathed as Laurens's hands passed dangerously over his boxers. 

“I love you too Alexander.” Laurens leaned down for a kiss, but Alexander flipped them so quickly and skillfully that Laurens was winded when his back hit the mattress. “Alexander—”

“I love you,” Alexander punctuated the sentence with a kiss on Laurens’s lips. “I.” He kissed his neck. “Love.” He kissed his collarbone. “You.” He kissed a trail down Laurens’s stomach, stopping above the waistband of his boyfriend’s boxers. Alexander looked up at Laurens, who raised an eyebrow but nodded. Alexander pulled Laurens’s boxers down and slowly moved forward, opening his mouth gradually and wrapping himself around Laurens’s dick. Laurens groaned and Alexander tried not to smile. He moved slowly, relishing Laurens’s moans as he swirled his tongue. 

“Alex,” Laurens whispered, halfway between a groan and a warning, “If you don't stop I won't be able to fuck you the way you want.”

Alexander pulled off with an almost obscene pop before returning his mouth to Laurens’s, his kisses sloppy and fast. Laurens flipped them again and planted his hands in the mattress, raising himself so he was tantalizingly out of reach. “Alex baby, are you ready?”

“I was ready ten minutes ago Laurens. Of course I'm ready.”

“Well then,” and Laurens reached into Alexander’s bedside table, extracting a condom and a bottle of lube. He pulled Alexander’s boxers down and they took a minute, each admiring the other's naked body. Then Laurens opened the lube and poured a little in his hand and Alexander squirmed up the mattress. Laurens slowly,  _ agonizingly slowly _ , stretched Alexander, breathing in his groans like oxygen. 

Alexander yanked Laurens down by his neck and said, “Now,” and Laurens complied. He rolled the condom onto himself before pushing gently into Alexander, who moaned and hissed at the same time. Laurens bit his lip and smirked, rolling his hips as Alexander groaned and kissed him. 

“Laurens!” Alexander gasped as a hand wrapped around his dick and started pumping. “Oh God yes oh my God holy shi—”

Laurens covered Alexander’s mouth with his free hand. “You're so cute when you're talking, but I don't need everyone in the house to know we’re fucking right now.” 

Alexander nodded, moaning against Laurens’s hand as he got closer and closer to his climax. His head tipped back and a loud groan escaped his mouth as Alexander came into Laurens’s hand. Laurens smiled and said, “You're beautiful Alexander. Absolutely beautiful.” Laurens groaned as he finished inside Alexander. He pulled out and collapsed on the mattress. 

Alexander pulled Laurens close. “I love you John Laurens.”

Laurens wrapped his arms around Alexander and kissed his forehead. “I love you Alexander Hamilton.”

**Author's Note:**

> Contact me on [tumblr](hopingforaword.tumblr.com) with prompts/ideas/comments. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Also, if you really like my work you can "buy me a coffee" 


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